Twelve Times Over
by white eyed fox
Summary: Family can bring the greatest joy, but they can also bring the greatest tragedy, and for one unfortunate Loud, tragedy struck twelve times


_Lisa woke up, and looked around the dark room. A few hours had passed since she and her family had gone to bed. Her father was working a late night at his restaurant, and was not present when the family went to bed. She made her way to the kitchen, before she could go down the stairs she heard, her mother opening the door, and suddenly start crying._

_The young girl watched the police officer attempt to comfort her, but she continued to cry._

_Lisa stayed upstairs, but could not hear the conversation between the adults._

* * *

The elderly woman abruptly opened her eyes, after being awoken by her alarm, "Why was I dreaming of that?"

She yawned. She had not thought of that night, or even the day after, in years. Lisa sat in her bed and remembered the forlorn look on her family members faces that morning after hearing news of their father's passing that evening.

Lisa shook her head as she recalled those days. Everyone was quiet, the kitchen was no longer filled with her father's experimental culinary concoctions, and all everyone could do was imagine how the Loud patriarch died an unfortunate, but pointless death.

She sighed and began to get ready to go to work. Despite her advanced age, Lisa Loud continued her work as a scientist, because as her best friend and roommate, Darcy would playfully tell her, 'The pursuit of science doesn't have a retirement age.'

Her friend was right, but in a way, Lisa liked to bury herself in her work; besides she wouldn't know what to do with herself if she ever stopped.

As she walked down the hallway, Lisa looked at the photos of various family members, both hers and Darcy's. Lisa stopped at one photo, and picked it up. It was her first niece – Lori and Bobby's only child together.

* * *

"_You're what?" Rita asked._

_Lori nodded, and the two women jumped for joy, after Lori announced being pregnant. Sure, less than a year ago, the siblings thought that she was being rash when she announced that she and Bobby were to wed, but now everyone was thrilled at the idea of a little bundle of joy that was going to join their family._

_As Lori's pregnancy progressed, the house was abuzz with details of the future that all the siblings were making; some offering to babysit, some happy to have a new little playmate, and Lily, who was happy to finally have someone that she could be the wise older 'sibling' to. _

"_I can't wait, babe."_

"_Me neither, Boo-boo bear."_

_The siblings playfully poked fun at the couple, who have been like that since Lori first announced being pregnant._

* * *

"If only you could have gotten to know her, Amanda," Lisa told the picture.

Lisa walked to the kitchen and took a seat next to Darcy, who was doing a crossword puzzle, "Is today the day?"

Lisa shook her head. Darcy has recently taken to asking her the same question every Monday, but Lisa's answer was always no. No, she was not planning on staying home and retiring.

The Loud woman took out a glass to get some water. As always she would inspect the glass for water stains, and when she didn't find any, she would pour herself some water.

"You know that the water is filtered, right?"

"I know that. But we can't be too careful at our age."

Darcy sighed and continued to work on the crossword puzzle. Lisa poured some water into the glass, and closed her eyes.

* * *

_Lana was floating on Fishmans' Pond, as she looked up at the sky. Dark clouds were looming overhead, and eventually Lana would have to go home, despite wanting to stay longer. The sound of thunder began to rumble and startled her, and she knew that it was time to go home._

"_Hops! Let's go!" Lana called out to her new amphibian friend._

_Lana didn't like thinking about it, and referring to 'new' Hops as just Hops, would take the sting out of her loss a few months back._

"_Hops! Where are you? Oww!" Lana yelled after cutting her foot on a sharp rock._

_The frog leaped out and made its way to the girl, and she quickly went to her bicycle and shoes. Lana took a look at the cut on her foot but let it go as the wind started picking up. _

_A few days later, Lana's foot started to hurt, but she didn't bring it up to her family. Every night she would choose to be the last one in the bathroom, anyone that tried to listen, could hear a hissing sound emerging from the bathroom._

_The siblings eventually noticed her limping, and she couldn't hide it anymore. Lisa examined her foot, which could only be described as nauseating._

* * *

"The wind has really been picking up these days; do you think that a tornado will pass through?" Darcy asked.

"Maybe… it is tornado season after all." Lisa said abruptly, and continued to eat her breakfast.

Darcy stayed quiet and let her roommate eat her oatmeal in peace.

After finishing her breakfast, Lisa opened the door and felt the wind pick up. "It's not that strong yet," she said to herself.

Soon, as if nature were a sentient being that did not like being mocked, a large gust of wind blew directly at Lisa's face and she felt a strange rush.

* * *

"_Where did you say you were going again?"_

"_West Virginia. There's this cool event going on, and I have to do it."_

_Rita sighed. If you asked her, Lynn was needlessly taking on risks in the form of extreme sports, but she knew why Lynn did it, and every time she went on one of these trips, Rita would always pray for her safety._

_Lisa came downstairs, "Here's the camera you requested," she told Lynn._

"_Neat! So does it work the same as the last camera?"_

_Lisa nodded, "But please, try ensure that it does not break this time."_

_Lynn chuckled at the memory of Lisa's angered face when she broke the camera the first time._

"_I can't make that promise, Lis."_

_The younger sister rolled her eyes, "I also have it set to livestream and automatically save to my computer so that you can revel in the adrenaline-filled memory."_

"_Thanks Lisa," Lynn said as she hugged her younger sister._

_Lynn hugged her mother and left with her friends._

* * *

Lisa immediately closed the drawer that contained a single flash drive. She didn't like looking at the contents contained in the storage device, but she could never bring herself to delete her sister's final moments; her smiling face, the wind blowing through her hair, or even the view that she was probably seeing before – nope, seeing it once was enough.

"Are you ready to go Lisa?"

Lisa looked at her friend, "Aren't you going to eat before we go?"

"I can eat later. One of the perks of retirement is being able to choose what I do with my time."

Lisa looked at Darcy, "You really are pushing it today."

"Not any more than usual," she said with a playful smile.

* * *

_Death was not something that the Louds liked discussing anymore than anyone else. Yes, they did talk to someone after their father's passing, but after that, it became a choice for the remaining family members whether or not to seek out professional help after their family members' run-in with the Grim Reaper._

_Lola looked at the last photo that she and Lana took together. They came into this world together and here she was cheating death by continuing to live while her older sister died. After Lana's passing, Lola couldn't bear to see her twin's possessions being boxed up and put away. Her family assumed that it was her way of keeping Lana close, and they would let her keep the possessions so long as Lola was happy._

_When night came however, she took to dressing in her sister's clothing, look at herself in the mirror and talk as if Lana was there in the room with her._

_The siblings knew, but didn't know what they could do to help._

_However, time was a cruel beast, and eventually those same clothes no longer fit. Lola's hands trembled, and she cried. This can't be happening. She was not going to leave her sister behind; she refused._

_She began a ritual, waking up earlier, making breakfast for the family, and claiming that she ate as she was making the meal, or even claiming that she ate out with friends._

_With everyone's lives continuing, no one really stopped to question it whenever they saw her, until she passed out in the middle of the day._

_Lisa conducted tests and silently told Lola her diagnosis. Lola just looked away in shame, and said that she should get help._

_Lisa nodded, and began a treatment plan._

_She just wished that Lola would have been more the patient type._

* * *

Inside the car, Darcy turned up the radio to listen to the disc jockeys mentioning a charity event for something. Lisa, personally, was not a fan of a loud radio while operating a motor vehicle, but it was Darcy's car, and she could choose whatever she wants.

"Should we go? It sounds fun."

"What?" Lisa responded, completely unaware that her mind wandered while Darcy was talking.

"They're doing a charity carnival and auction to raise money for the children's hospital. Do you want to go?"

"Umm…"

Before Lisa could respond, "If you don't want to, we can skip it."

Lisa shook her head, "No, no, we should go and have some fun."

* * *

_Five. That's how many times the Louds had to go through the grief of a funeral. The process never got easier, but they had no choice but to go along with it. After Lola's passing, the Louds agreed that they should be more vigilant of their mental health. Everyone found a way to find peace. _

_The phone rang one afternoon. Lily responded, and turned to her older sister. "That was the hospital. They said that Luan didn't show up for her shift."_

"_She is just a volunteer. I'm surprised that they were to notice."_

"_She's been going every Wednesday for years. Of course, they'll notice if she doesn't show up."_

_Lisa called Luan's phone, but didn't get a response. Both sisters assumed that she may have been busy. _

_Four hours later, they tried again, but no response._

_That Saturday, the siblings went to Luan's apartment to look for her. _

"_Do you think that she'll be here?" Lily asked._

"_She hasn't responded to her phone or called us back. Three days is more than an appropriate amount of time to have passed. We should at least look through the apartment to get some information on our sister's whereabouts."_

_Nothing looked out of the ordinary. _

_All the siblings looked around, but didn't find anything._

"_How can there be nothing?" asked Lincoln._

_The sisters shrugged, and Lisa and Lily decided to look in the bedroom. The two sisters opened the door, and looked around; under the bed, through the drawers, and nothing. Lily opened the closet, and gasped._

_There was no note, just one book with one thousand names and dates._

* * *

The women continued Lisa's commute and the car dinged, indicating a text message was received on Darcy's phone. Lisa pressed a button on the screen, and the car read that Darcy's medicine was ready at the pharmacy.

"Is it that time already?"

Lisa nodded her head. The stresses that come with growing old are not ones that anyone looks forward to, but ones that just have to be endured. Lisa certainly preferred being a child prodigy, but she knew that that can never happen again, and no time machine was ever going to fix the wounds of her heart either.

* * *

_Aging was a part of life, the Louds knew that. Pop-Pop's passing was certainly sad, but the all the siblings knew that growing older meant the inevitable was bound to happen. With him, at least all of the family members had an opportunity to say their goodbyes after months of waiting for his passing._

_Sudden deaths, unfortunately, aren't as forgiving._

_It's already happened so often to the family, yet when Rita had a heart attack; the siblings felt the sting of losing a parent all over again._

_It was sudden, and they all cried. _

_It was just a normal morning, but they concluded that maybe the pain of burying her husband and five daughters was taking more of a physical toll on their mother than they, or even doctors, expected. _

_At least she could now have some sort of peace, after all, children are meant to bury their parents, not the other way around._

* * *

The car dinged again, this time to let them know that the car was low on fuel.

Lisa was about to say something, but Darcy quickly started, "I know. I know. I don't need a lecture. Besides we have plenty of time before you clock in."

The two laughed a little as they pulled into a gas station. Darcy stepped out of the car, and Lisa took at her surroundings. Her eyes became fixated on a fire safety sign.

She has probably seen it over a million times in her life, but every time she was a gas station, she would read it again and again.

* * *

_Whenever Lisa would see Lily nowadays, she would notice her younger sister's blank stares. She barely registered her surroundings, and was rarely away from her virtual reality goggles for more than an hour._

_Lisa regretted giving it to her, but Lily did make a good case for wanting them in the first place._

"_I don't have any memories of living in our lively house… everyone started dying since I was one… just once, can you let me see what it's like to live in the Loud house?"_

_Lisa felt remorse, and nodded. Within a few days, she had Lily's goggles prepared with pre-recorded memories via her and Luan's camera footage. _

_Within a few days, Lily quickly became addicted. At first it was just an hour, and then more and more time was spent on the device._

_Honestly, Lisa was regretting giving her those damn goggles._

"_Let the goggles cool down. It's overheating and the scent is attaching itself to you."_

"_It's fine," she would say in those seldom moments that she didn't have the ocular device attached to her lightly scarred face. "But can you look at the battery for me? It's draining quicker than normal."_

_Lisa huffed, "Fine!"_

"_Thanks, Lisa."_

* * *

"Thank goodness that it's almost summer, I can finally stop worrying about snow and slipping on ice."

"I concur. The changing barometric pressure is aggravating the arthritis in my knee, and I cannot express how pleased I will be when I can finally stop worrying about strangers coughing, and their germs being in the air."

Darcy nodded.

"And planting flowers for the garden will be nice," Lisa added.

* * *

_Every once in a while, Luna would stop by Royal Woods unexpectedly after declaring the need for a break from touring around with her band. The most recent time that she made an appearance in town, she was frequently coughing, which she would attribute to the 'rock n' roll lifestyle'. _

"_You should probably see a doctor, Luna." Leni would say._

"_It's fine, dude. Besides it's only been an issue for a few days."_

_Eventually, Luna did decide to go see a doctor. She told the siblings that it was just a cough and that she was going to be fine, which made the siblings feel better._

_The next night, Lisa saw Luna attempt to leave in the middle of the night._

"_Going somewhere?"_

_Luna jumped and turned to her younger sister. "Yeah…I'm going to uh…to uh…go on a road trip with Sam." _

_Lisa looked outside and saw Sam sitting in a car in the driveway._

"_How long are you going to be gone for?"_

"_I don't know... a few weeks. Just don't wait up…" she said before breaking into a coughing fit._

"_I can try to help…"_

_Luna shook her head. "I've made my peace, brah. Besides that's no way to live…" She grabbed her bags and walked out the door._

_A few weeks later, Sam called the Louds._

* * *

After Lisa arrived at the lab, she went to her work station, and went through her maintenance checklist. Normally, she wouldn't mind letting the technicians and quality control ensure that the calibrations and maintenance schedules were being followed, but she had some extra time in her schedule today, and decided to double check their work.

The machines were properly calibrated.

The cleaning staff had followed its schedule.

The sensors were all functioning perfectly.

* * *

_Lincoln came up from the basement. "I did it. I installed the water heater."_

"_Are you sure that you didn't want any help with that Linky?"_

"_I'm fine, Leni. Besides I'm quite capable of installing a water heater"_

"_But are you capable of maintaining the rest of your home?" asked Lisa._

"_What's that supposed to mean?"_

_The sisters went quiet. Lincoln wasn't exactly a handyman, and sometimes the sisters felt like calling in a professional to make sure that nothing goes wrong, but every once in a while they let Lincoln have a win._

"_Besides I've done this before," remarked Lincoln._

_Lisa looked up at the smoke detector, and silently asked her brother if they were in working order._

"_I'll go get a ladder."_

* * *

After work, Lisa waited outside of the laboratory for Darcy. Cars would pass by, and coworkers would offer to take her home, but she didn't want to make them go out of their way just to drop her off.

However, at the same time, she didn't like that Darcy would have to come pick her up, but she didn't drive anymore. Even if automotive technology has improved drastically since her formative years, such as added safety features and some self-driving cars on the road; Lisa preferred her best friend, rather than some stranger, driving the automobile.

* * *

_If you asked the siblings to describe their ideal partner years ago, you would not have expected Leni to be romantically interested in Bobby, but years of her acting as a doting godmother to Amanda, and being in close proximity to him, eventually brought the two to at least take a small leap forward._

_Yes, Leni felt bad that she was in a romantic relationship with Bobby, years after Lori passed. Bobby wasn't any better either. He was too loyal, but the siblings convinced them that Lori wouldn't want them to dwell on the past._

_They did get that happy ending that everyone dreams of – the nice house, the kids, even the cute dog too._

_The two were happy growing old together._

_One night, Bobby hurt himself, and couldn't wait until morning. Leni drove them to the hospital, but night driving was definitely not Leni's strong suit, especially in her older years._

_From what the news said, the bastard was drunk._

* * *

"Sorry I'm late. I stopped by the bookstore to get the new book in Maxwell's series."

"I understand. It is a good book."

Lisa stepped into the car, and took the book out of the bag. She skimmed through the pages, and looked for the foreword.

She normally isn't that concerned with these, but she made a habit of it a few years ago.

You never know how important they are to someone.

* * *

_Lisa was at a bookstore, and looked through the Romance section of the store. Normally, you wouldn't catch her dead here, but she was supportive of her older sister's endeavors as an author._

_She looked for Lucy's book, and picked it up to buy. Yes, Lucy can give her a free copy, but that's not how you really show support, you have to buy them to show that the book at least has an audience._

_A few nights ago, Lucy called her to let her know that her new book was coming out, and that it was necessary for her to read it._

_Lisa complied, and bought the book. _

_Overall, it was a good read, but she couldn't determine why Lucy was insistent that she read it, until Darcy pointed something out to her._

_In the foreword, Lucy left her a sweet note with various childhood memories that they shared, and how she wished that she could have heard her thoughts on the book._

_Lisa cried, not because her sister was gone, but because she knew and didn't tell her._

_Unfortunately, Lucy was naturally the quiet type._

* * *

The two women arrived home, and Lisa made her way to the big family photo that Lincoln insisted on for their parents' anniversary. A tear fell down her cheek as she looked at all of her siblings, and how she wished that they weren't taken from this world when they were.

But that's not how it works.


End file.
